Henderson Highlights 10 Early Signees for Liberty Baseball

Liberty Head Baseball Coach Jim Toman has announced the signing of 10 players to Letter of Intent

Four signees from the Commonwealth of Virginia including All-American Josh Henderson highlight a group of 10 student-athletes who have signed a National Letter of Intent to attended Liberty University for the 2012-13 academic year.

"This is a very strong group of 2012 signees and we are very happy to welcome them all to the Liberty baseball family," stated head coach Jim Toman. "They have an outstanding skill set and understand the mission of our school."

"We feel like this could be one of our top early signing classes. More than likely, we will need to sign a few more pitchers in the spring. Jason Murray, Garrett Quinn, and the rest of the staff have worked extremely hard to sign this class. I believe the school-record 42 wins in 2010 and the school-record seven players drafted professionally this past year helped us in the recruitment of these young men.

"The main factor in securing this class was the announcement by Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. and Athletic Director Jeff Barber of the new stadium being built here for the 2013 season. Recruits see the commitment our administration has shown to the program and they want to be a part of it. Now we cannot only say that we are one of the top Christian schools in the nation, but that we will also have a brand new stadium that some of the top players from around the country will want to call home!"

Liberty is scheduled to open its 2012 season at Riley Park in Charleston, S.C., against Richmond on Feb. 17, as part of The Citadel Challenge.

Name

Position

Height

Weight

B/T

Hometown

State

HS/JC

Skye Adams

LHP

5-11

190

L/L

Vancouver

Wash.

Edmonds CC

Austin Bream

1B/OF

6-3

200

R/R

Zelienople

Pa.

Seneca Valley HS

Todd Dunbar

LHP

6-4

210

L/L

Roanoke

Va.

Northside HS

Brandon Goodson

OF

5-10

175

L/R

Mocksville

N.C.

Wesleyan Christian HS

Josh Henderson

OF

6-0

185

L/L

Suffolk

Va.

Home Schooled

Jake Kimble

INF

5-11

155

R/R

Concord

N.C.

Mt Pleasant HS

Nick Lacik

OF

5-10

180

L/L

Spotsylvania

Va.

Florence Darlington Tech

Joel Licon

INF

5-11

185

R/R

Diamond Bar

Calif.

Orange Coast CC

Nick Sturgill

1B

6-4

235

R/R

Wise

Va.

J.J. Kelly HS

Sammy Taormina

3B

6-3

180

L/R

Rock Hill

S.C.

Northwestern HS

The following is a look at and Toman's thoughts on the program's signees:

Skye Adams – LHP, Edmonds CC, Vancouver, Wash.

"Skye is a left-hander out of junior college, with a solid curveball and changeup. He has shown outstanding command. He had an outstanding freshman season at Edmonds CC and a great summer with the Everett Merchants. We expect Skye to impact our pitching staff immediately."

"Austin was our first commitment of the 2012 class. The Bream name has a long legacy at Liberty, and we are delighted to be adding another Bream to the Liberty family. He has an advanced offensive approach and is also a quality defensive first baseman."

-Member of the Allegheny Pirates Showcase Baseball Organization -Member of the WPIAL Champion Seneca Valley High School

Todd Dunbar – LHP, Northside High School, Roanoke, Va.

"Todd reminded us of Steven Evans (former Liberty Pitcher – 13th round draft picked). He projects as 6-4 200 lb. and low 3/4 left-hander that has good command and tremendous upside. He will have an opportunity to pitch very early in his career."

"Josh arguably has the top credentials of any signee in Liberty Baseball history. He has been ranked as high as No. 1 in the state and chose Liberty over many of the top programs in the nation. He should be an impact player for us as a freshman."

-Participant in the 2011 Perfect Game All-American Classic – top 40 players in the nation -2011 Perfect Game All-American Underclass second team -Perfect Game 2012 Top Ranked High School Player in the State -Perfect Game 2012 56th Ranked High School Player in the Nation -Member of the Nationally recognized Canes Showcase Summer Baseball Team -Participant in the USA Baseball Tournament of Stars in Cary, N.C. -Selected as a member of the East Coast Professional Showcase -His final list included North Carolina, East Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia

Jake Kimble – INF, Mount Pleasant High School, Concord, N.C.

"Jake had the best actions of any of the shortstops we saw at the North Carolina State Games. When he adds a little more physicality, we feel like he can become a tremendous shortstop for us."

-2011 Participant in NC State Games – Region 6 -Member of Champions Baseball Academy -2011 Played in Perfect Game WWBA World Championships

Nick Lacik – OF, Florence Darlington Tech, Spotsylvania, Va.

"Nick is a high energy outfielder with a quick bat and a nice swing from the left side. He has very good speed, plays excellent defense, and will fight for a job immediately in the outfield."

"Joel is a versatile athlete who can play three different infield positions. He has Division I experience, understands how to play the game, and will be an excellent addition to our ballclub."

-2010 – Started 17 games at Loyola Marymount as a true freshman -2009 Stats – Diamond Bar High School – Batting Average .433, Doubles-8, Homeruns-3, RBI-10, Runs-25 -2009 All-City, All-Area, and All-League at Diamond Bar -Recruited by Arizona, UCLA, Cal State Fullerton, UC Davis, Santa Clara, and Loyola Marymount out of high school

Nick Sturgill – 1B, J.J. Kelly High School, Wise, Va.

"Nick also came to our camp and showed tremendous power to all fields. He is a very physical player, with a strong work ethic. We are looking forward to seeing him hit!"

"Sammy is one of the top hitters we saw during the recruiting process. He uses the entire field and has very mature at-bats for a young hitter. When he puts on 15-20 pounds of muscle he has a chance to become a middle of the order hitter for us."

-2011 Played in the 2011 Team USA – Nation Team Identification Series -2011 Played in the Perfect Game WWBA World Championships -2011 All-Area, All-District and All-Region -2011 Offensive MVP for Northwestern HS -2011 Member of Champions Baseball Academy -2011 stats – Batting Average .489, Doubles-10, Home runs-1, RBI-28